legitimately

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ləˈdʒɪtəmətli/ UK /lɪˈdʒɪtɪmətli/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

adv
in a way that conforms to law or accepted standards; justifiably

She legitimately earned every promotion she received.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adv · in a way that conforms to... lawfully justifiably validly rightfully properly legally

Opposites

illegitimately unlawfully unjustifiably

Word family

Related forms legitimate legitimacy legit

Etymology

From legitimate (Medieval Latin legitimātus, from Latin lēgitimus 'lawful', from lēx 'law') + the adverbial suffix -ly.

lēgitimus Latin lēx Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# legitimately

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adv
**IPA (US):** /ləˈdʒɪtəmətli/
**IPA (UK):** /lɪˈdʒɪtɪmətli/

## Meanings
1. in a way that conforms to law or accepted standards; justifiably

## Examples
- She legitimately earned every promotion she received.

## Synonyms
- lawfully
- justifiably
- validly
- rightfully
- properly
- legally

## Antonyms
- illegitimately
- unlawfully
- unjustifiably

## Related Forms
- legitimate
- legitimacy
- legit

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: lēgitimus
- Root: lēx

## Etymology
From legitimate (Medieval Latin legitimātus, from Latin lēgitimus 'lawful', from lēx 'law') + the adverbial suffix -ly.

## AI Etymology
Legitimately is from legitimate (Medieval Latin legitimātus, from Latin lēgitimus 'lawful', from lēx 'law') + the adverbial suffix -ly. Important recorded forms include lēgitimus (Latin) and lēx (Latin). Morphologically, the word is a built form whose named elements carry part of the historical sense. The current sense covers in a way that conforms to law or accepted standards; justifiably. The wider family includes related words such as legitimate, legitimacy, and legit.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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